Board of Directors (2023-2024)

Craig East BOARD DIRECTOR | 2001 to present

I grew up in Fernie, BC, before attending UBC. After UBC, I obtained my Chartered Accountants designation (now known as CPA, CA) and last year earned by ICD.D designation. I have been a resident of Surrey for 45+ years. My wife, Rosemary grew up in Surrey as well, graduating from Queen Elizabeth High School before going on to UBC to become a teacher. We raised our family of three kids and now enjoy watching and helping our six grandchildren grow up in the lower mainland which has been and will continue to be ‘interesting and fun’. Once the youngest child was in high school, Rosemary went back into teaching, with most of her teaching years at Princess Margaret High School.

CRAIG & ROSEMARY EAST Victoria, BC (2020)

Rosemary and I love ‘trailing’ … hooking up our 40-year-old RV trailer to the SUV and travelling over the hills, plains and mountains

of western North America, spending time in small communities. During COVID last year, we re- visited places in southern British Columbia, which we had not been to in years. It was a sharp reminder of the beauty of BC. By nature, I am a curious person with a finance and broad business background. I retired in 2019 after 50 years of working with others to make teams of people perform more effectively. I was introduced to Options by Director, Mike Kendler and joined the Board more than 20 years ago. I believed I could help the Board and management understand the ‘financial’ and ‘the business of Options’ in a relevant and helpful way. Options continues to be an amazing organization of good, caring, and smart people, doing good work for the sustainability of the organization and good work for its clients, stakeholders and the communities. As Chair of the Board Audit Committee and a member of the Board Finance and Risk Management Committees, I have gained a strong understanding of the breadth of Options’ operations. About 10 years ago, the Board asked that I represent Options on the newly-formed Board Voice Society of BC (Board Voice). Board Voice was created to be a provincial voice of Community Directors from across our province for our community services organizations. This experience greatly expanded my understanding of - and passion for, solving the major issues facing our sector. In the fall of 2020, I stepped down from Board Voice which gave me more time to focus on Options. Outside of Options and work, my interests include more than 30 years as an active business volunteer with the Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT). I have found there are many ‘cross-over’ matters that impact both Options’ clients and Surrey Business. Working with Options and SBOT groups to make Surrey a better community for its residents and businesses has been quite satisfying.

OPTIONS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY

APRIL 2021

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